I thought this was beautifully made, but the story had been changed too much from the original story.
IIRC, there was no wife in the original, and therefore no need to include the ring - it was just a little flute.
Second big gripe - why deprive us of picture area by making it in 2.35:1? It's not intended as a cinema release, so it can only be for 'style'. Bloody stupid.
I thought this was beautifully made, but the story had been changed too much from the original story.
IIRC, there was no wife in the original, and therefore no need to include the ring - it was just a little flute.
Second big gripe - why deprive us of picture area by making it in 2.35:1? It's not intended as a cinema release, so it can only be for 'style'. Bloody stupid.
But the style was the best thing about it.
And no, there was no wife in the original. There are few, if any, women in MR James's stories.
mm, so did she haunt him to death, the scene at the end implied that she too had died possibly, as a result of the shock, one minute she was in the chair, the next not
or was she projecting her soul, from the home like others said, to let her know she was still around, and it backfired
It was surprisingly good for a modern adaptation of the original. The music was first class, and it did everything right to create a tense atmosphere.
Woman In Black is still the best IMHO, but it's very overrated and probably will come across as this to anyone seeking it out. The beauty of Woman In Black was it was completely unexpected.
I have to say me and the OH thought this was fantastic. The atmospheric direction, artistic visuals and creepy sound, combined with a brilliantly creepy build-up, really made this a sublime piece to televisual cinema. John Hurt was fantastic and I thought it was quite unambiguous.
In our opinion, the ring was a talisman that brought the demented and tortured soul of his wife to him. The inscription "who is this who is coming" gave that bit away. Her screaming I am still here was truly terrifying, as was the scratching and then the door banging. I have to say the finger under the door were what got me and I;m a thirty-one year old man who grew up with horror films.
There will always be haters for anything and everything, but I am going to say bravo Beeb. A creepy classic to kick off Christmas.
I was really looking forward to this as I love a Ghost story on TV at Christmas, but it was so disappointing.
Yes, there were some good atmospherics in it, but no real rhyme or reason to the story, in my view.
I've never read it, but I'm guessing there's a lot been lost in the modernising of it.
Very excited about this. Superb to have John Hurt involved.
Recent BBC attempts to do the classic "Ghost Story for Xmas" have been hit and miss. The Haunted Airman was fairly rubbish, and Number 13 was so-so. View from a Hill was very good , and even Crooked House had it's moments...however, but nothing can chill like the Signalman, Warning to the Curious, and the original Whistle.
never seen any of these, gonna find the original whistle on you tube as someone said, you could find it there
has anyone else seen the creepy episode of bergerac someone refered to as utterly terrifying ?
does anyone else have any recommendations
the changeling to me, is still, the best ghost story I have seen, though I loved the adaption of the woman in black, that was on ITV some years ago (when she came through that window, I literally hit the ceiling)
What doors are these that have 3" gaps under them?. And people with Dementia are never all clothed in the same clothes, or all sat in regimented lines.
I was very disappointed. It was just a vehicle for John Hurt. Why do TV producers take a story that is good and ruin it. The whole point of the story is that he found a whistle and blew it which summoned up something nasty.They should have called this version 'Ring and I'll come to you'. All the time I was watching it I could hear this sound like an old tumble dryer which turned out to be MR James spinning in his grave.
It was better than I expected, but you really can't beat the original M R James story.
There are so few decent ghost stories around, only a few which I would class as genuinely creepy with overall good/great well adapted/written stories:
- The Changeling (starring George C Scott)
- The Woman in Black (TV adaptation)
- The Signalman (excellent adaptation from the BBC)
those are the oustanding ones for me, but there are others which I like, including the recent A View from a Hill, filmed and broadcast a few years ago by the BBC.
Abysmal, and the ending was trite beyond belief. Having said that I don’t rate the Michael Hordern version either. Can nobody make a decent version of this story?
Is The Woman in Black available anywhere? I keep hearing about it (and jumped out of my seat watching it in the West End!), and would love to see it - or it it quite old and thus unavailable?
Is The Woman in Black available anywhere? I keep hearing about it (and jumped out of my seat watching it in the West End!), and would love to see it - or it it quite old and thus unavailable?
They’ve remade it with Daniel Radcliffe and they’ve blocked the re-release of the Nigel Kneale adaptation so the new version doesn’t suffer by comparison. NOTHING is as scary as the original.
<Shudders violently>
I've never forgotten that, really terrifying:eek:
i'm going to watch the rest of this later, i've seen part of it already and it's terrific!:eek::D
thanks for the heads up on the signalman........denholm elliott is perfectly cast in the role, will have to watch that all the way through as well
gemma jones is superb as always
this has inspired me to look out my volume of ghost stories by M R James that i've got in the back of a cupboard somewhere!:p
Is The Woman in Black available anywhere? I keep hearing about it (and jumped out of my seat watching it in the West End!), and would love to see it - or it it quite old and thus unavailable?
It sure is - on amazon.co.uk, amazon.com and Ebay
Prices are reasonable too - they've come down a LOT from the £100 or so that they were selling for a few years ago!
They’ve remade it with Daniel Radcliffe and they’ve blocked the re-release of the Nigel Kneale adaptation so the new version doesn’t suffer by comparison. NOTHING is as scary as the original.
I'm not at all happy about the way that the Nigel Kneale adaptation has been treated by Susan Hill (or whoever bought the home video rights from her). Okay, so Hill was nit-picky about it, but there's no need to deny other people the pleasure of watching it, especially as it has garnered such high praise, even amongst ghost story afficianados.
No idea what any of it was about! What was the significance of the "bust" in his room that he placed in the wardrobe? Why did his wife disappear at the end? Not scarey, just very disappointing and totally confusing. Haven't really got a clue as to what the "story" was. It seems from other posts that I'm not alone.....any ideas anyone??
No idea what any of it was about! What was the significance of the "bust" in his room that he placed in the wardrobe? Why did his wife disappear at the end? Not scarey, just very disappointing and totally confusing. Haven't really got a clue as to what the "story" was. It seems from other posts that I'm not alone.....any ideas anyone??
The bust was another red herring designed to ramp up the creepiness. No other reason.
The wife disappearing was just weird, although someone assumed it was because she had died.
I would've enjoyed it more if it hadn't been touted as being based on James's superb story. That set expectations high, and so when they mess with the plot it always comes as a disappointment.
No-one can conjure up an eerie atmosphere like M R James. The TV programme got a little of the atmosphere but fell down with the plot.
Comments
IIRC, there was no wife in the original, and therefore no need to include the ring - it was just a little flute.
Second big gripe - why deprive us of picture area by making it in 2.35:1? It's not intended as a cinema release, so it can only be for 'style'. Bloody stupid.
But the style was the best thing about it.
And no, there was no wife in the original. There are few, if any, women in MR James's stories.
or was she projecting her soul, from the home like others said, to let her know she was still around, and it backfired
Woman In Black is still the best IMHO, but it's very overrated and probably will come across as this to anyone seeking it out. The beauty of Woman In Black was it was completely unexpected.
In our opinion, the ring was a talisman that brought the demented and tortured soul of his wife to him. The inscription "who is this who is coming" gave that bit away. Her screaming I am still here was truly terrifying, as was the scratching and then the door banging. I have to say the finger under the door were what got me and I;m a thirty-one year old man who grew up with horror films.
There will always be haters for anything and everything, but I am going to say bravo Beeb. A creepy classic to kick off Christmas.
Yes, there were some good atmospherics in it, but no real rhyme or reason to the story, in my view.
I've never read it, but I'm guessing there's a lot been lost in the modernising of it.
never seen any of these, gonna find the original whistle on you tube as someone said, you could find it there
has anyone else seen the creepy episode of bergerac someone refered to as utterly terrifying ?
does anyone else have any recommendations
the changeling to me, is still, the best ghost story I have seen, though I loved the adaption of the woman in black, that was on ITV some years ago (when she came through that window, I literally hit the ceiling)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83CIwVKNjM4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz4K8DQgk4s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdg22sRuJKU&feature=related
I enjoyed last nights program , John Hurt is soo good, still creeped me out although the original is fabulous.
just as well he died at the end though - I dread to think what kind of review of the hotel he would have written on TripAdvisor
There are so few decent ghost stories around, only a few which I would class as genuinely creepy with overall good/great well adapted/written stories:
- The Changeling (starring George C Scott)
- The Woman in Black (TV adaptation)
- The Signalman (excellent adaptation from the BBC)
those are the oustanding ones for me, but there are others which I like, including the recent A View from a Hill, filmed and broadcast a few years ago by the BBC.
much more effective in my book
That's my favourite ghost story/film. It is so well done. How can a ball bouncing down some stairs be so terrifying? :eek:
They’ve remade it with Daniel Radcliffe and they’ve blocked the re-release of the Nigel Kneale adaptation so the new version doesn’t suffer by comparison. NOTHING is as scary as the original.
<Shudders violently>
I've never forgotten that, really terrifying:eek:
i'm going to watch the rest of this later, i've seen part of it already and it's terrific!:eek::D
thanks for the heads up on the signalman........denholm elliott is perfectly cast in the role, will have to watch that all the way through as well
gemma jones is superb as always
this has inspired me to look out my volume of ghost stories by M R James that i've got in the back of a cupboard somewhere!:p
Oh yes, VERY effective. And that hidden room. And the boy under the floorboards and in the bath. The running taps.
And a really excellent story and very creepy atmosphere.
It sure is - on amazon.co.uk, amazon.com and Ebay
Prices are reasonable too - they've come down a LOT from the £100 or so that they were selling for a few years ago!
Well worth buying.
I'm not at all happy about the way that the Nigel Kneale adaptation has been treated by Susan Hill (or whoever bought the home video rights from her). Okay, so Hill was nit-picky about it, but there's no need to deny other people the pleasure of watching it, especially as it has garnered such high praise, even amongst ghost story afficianados.
The bust was another red herring designed to ramp up the creepiness. No other reason.
The wife disappearing was just weird, although someone assumed it was because she had died.
I would've enjoyed it more if it hadn't been touted as being based on James's superb story. That set expectations high, and so when they mess with the plot it always comes as a disappointment.
No-one can conjure up an eerie atmosphere like M R James. The TV programme got a little of the atmosphere but fell down with the plot.